Cathodic sputtering is widely used for the deposition of thin layers of material onto desired substrates. A typical sputtering system includes a plasma source for generating an electron or ion beam, a target that comprises a material to be atomized, and a substrate onto which the sputtered material is deposited. The process involves bombarding the target material with the electron or ion beam at an angle that causes the target material to be sputtered or eroded off the target. The sputtered target material is deposited as a thin film on the substrate. Eventually, an erosion groove is formed in the sputtering target where the sputter material has been depleted.
In many sputtering applications, only a small fraction (25–40%) of the typical target material is utilized. Normally after the sputter target is spent, it is discarded, remelted, or refined. Refurbishing spent targets offers the potential of significant cost reduction through increasing end-to-end material yields, and reducing the carrying cost of precious metal inventory. Hence, there is competitive advantage to be gained by suppliers who can effectively refurbish spent sputter targets. The method for refurbishing targets can be simply stated as filling the erosion groove with new sputter material and reprocessing the target using a hot isostatic pressing or HIP'ing technique.